GitHub Copilot Coding Agent Now Available in Visual Studio
GitHub CopilotGitHub has extended its Copilot coding agent to Visual Studio, allowing developers using Visual Studio 2026 to delegate coding tasks directly from the IDE. Developers enter a prompt in Copilot Chat and click a new 'Send to Copilot Coding Agent' button, which hands the task off to an autonomous background agent that opens a draft pull request. Available across Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise plans.
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GitHub Copilot Coding Agent Comes to Visual Studio
GitHub has made the Copilot coding agent available inside Visual Studio, completing a major piece of its cross-IDE agent strategy. The coding agent — previously accessible through VS Code, GitHub.com, and the mobile app — can now be invoked directly from Visual Studio 2026.
How Task Delegation Works
The workflow is designed to feel like a natural extension of Copilot Chat. A developer describes what they want done in the chat panel, then clicks the new "Send to Copilot Coding Agent" button. At that point, the agent takes over: it opens a draft pull request on GitHub, works independently in the cloud using its own isolated development environment, and requests review when the work is complete.
This asynchronous model means the developer can continue working in the IDE — or close it entirely — while the agent handles the implementation in the background.
Requirements and Availability
The feature requires Visual Studio 2026, specifically the December Update (version 18.1.0 or later). Developers must also enable the "Enable Copilot Coding Agent (preview)" setting within the IDE. Access is available on Copilot Pro, Copilot Pro+, Copilot Business, and Copilot Enterprise plans.
Broader Context
The Visual Studio launch is part of a broader push by GitHub to make the Copilot coding agent available wherever developers already work. The same week, GitHub also shipped coding agent access from Raycast, and the agent has been available in VS Code and JetBrains IDEs since earlier releases.